The 10 biggest business stories on Wednesday November 11

Sainsbury's first-half profits fall; Amazon's Bezos is now world's fourth richest man; Alibaba Group sells $5 billion in first 90 Minutes of Singles Day sale

Sainsbury's has upgraded its profit forecast (Reuters)

1. Figures on average earnings growth and the unemployment rate for September are due at 9.30am. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 5.4 per cent, while earnings growth including bonuses is forecast to accelerate from 3 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

2. Supermarket group Sainsbury's has reported a 17.9 per cent fall in underlying half-year pre-tax profits to £308 million.

3. The cyber-attack on TalkTalk could cost it up to £35 million in the short term, the company has said.

4. British pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies face a major skills shortage which threatens future investment and the long-term success of the life sciences sector, according to a new industry report.

5. Carlsberg is cutting 2,000 jobs as the Danish brewer posted a net loss for the third quarter following a European slowdown.

6. International Monetary Fund's new chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said he worries about a “nightmare scenario”, in which various pressures conspire to weaken the economic bonds of Europe, in an interview with AFP.

7. UBS's chairman Axel Weber says Britain will get a “very favourable deal” if it leaves the EU, ensuring that the City of London is not undermined as a major financial centre, the Telegraph reports

8. Alibaba generated $5 billion (£3.3 billion) in sales in the first 90 minutes of Singles' Day - China's biggest online shopping day of the year. That's how much Americans spent online last year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

9. Jeff Bezos became the world’s fourth-richest man. The Amazon CEO surpassed Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecom magnate, after the value of Amazon stock rose yesterday. Bezos now has a net worth of $58.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

10. This year, vinyls sales could reach a 1989 record. Total sales in 2014 reached 14 million according to figures from the Recording Industry Association of America. Research from BPI and Nielsen Soundscan found a 38 per cent and 56 per cent growth in the US and UK markets respectively, reflecting that vinyl sales are at their highest level in over twenty years.